Right, ok. They dont exist. The tattooist who fell into the lead clad tunnel in Wakefield was dreaming. So was the guy I spoke to who helped excavate the tunnel leading toward the cathedral. There was also a strange out of body experience by a teacher who was in the middle of derlivering a talk in Wakefield when his lesson was interrupted by men in uniform who insisted they leave the building while they capped the entrance to a tunnel.

Now, tell me also about the origin of stone coffins recently excavated from beneath the Wakefield Cathedral. I havent seen these but record of them exists. The stone coffin (without lid or original contents) in the grounds of Normanton church is attributed to Templars. One thing I can say with a fair degree of certainty is that history is normally recorded by the victors.

Right, ok. They dont exist. The tattooist who fell into the lead clad tunnel in Wakefield was dreaming. So was the guy I spoke to who helped excavate the tunnel leading toward the cathedral. There was also a strange out of body experience by a teacher who was in the middle of derlivering a talk in Wakefield when his lesson was interrupted by men in uniform who insisted they leave the building while they capped the entrance to a tunnel.

Now, tell me also about the origin of stone coffins recently excavated from beneath the Wakefield Cathedral. I havent seen these but record of them exists. The stone coffin (without lid or original contents) in the grounds of Normanton church is attributed to Templars. One thing I can say with a fair degree of certainty is that history is normally recorded by the victors.

No one's saying that tunnels don't exist - they do and if you read whats been posted there is evidence of such tunnels. The length of the tunnels you are talking about from Newlands to Wakefield is what is in question. I'd wager a bet that if you can show me a tunnel from Newlands to Wakefield and walk through it i'll show my **** in what used to be Woolworths window.

Old Stonian you may be able to shed some light. Been talking to a resident near you about the air raid shelter tunnel. By the sounds of it there is much more than I knew and probably many others. Has there been any mention of such a thing near you?

I know nothing about an air raid tunnel. Anderson shelters were delivered to those with a back garden (our's was in Moor Road) and the council built shelters in the streets where the backs were brick blocked (Mount Pleasant Street is one example). The Anderson shelters could be bought for a small sum after the war, and the street shelters were nearly all demolished. The one opposite the fish shop on Pontefract raod survived and was converted to a hair dressing salon and then private housing. I think the subject heading says it all. ie it is a myth.The sand tunnels in Pontefract were used as air raid shelters. I have never seen or heard of anything similar in Purston or south Featherstone.

Sadly a supposed to be kept secret has come to light this week. Prior to building works on the Girnhill Estate you will have noticed many holes drilled and pipes left sticking out. This was to inject grout/ concrete in to various underground imperfections. However it appears during the surveys that a number of huge underground cavities had shown up on scans. This is a report about 3 particular holes that has come to light.Hole 1 & 2. A large boring machine was brought in to drill 2 locations opposite Ronnie’s old house. The first hole found a stone cap over the top of a large bell pit. This was drilled open and filled. The second hole was the same but when the drill broke through the stone cap the top collapsed and almost took the whole machine with it. The hole was recorded at measuring 16 metres deep to the surface from the rubble filled bottom. A big hole by any standard! Amazingly it had a house sat on it for years. Hole 3 is most interesting. Hole 3 was a break in to a tunnel. The tunnel ran under Ronnie’s garden and on towards Nostel Priory. Is this another dot on the tunnel map?Such a shame none of this is being preserved for a number of reasons. Surely it is of historical interest and holds possible tourism chances for Featherstone. The only plus is that grouting was supposed to be every 3 metres but was apparently done every 6 metres. Perhaps the tunnels will be exposed when the houses sink?